Sony, Watching iPad Sales, Considers a Tablet of Its Own

Sony will develop an iPad-like tablet PC, should it decide that consumer interest is great enough, Bloomberg reported. Sony's knack for catering to the high-end may not be a fit for tablets, however, where major sales are only expected to follow from big price drops.

Sony is considering developing a tablet-style PC, not unlike the
Apple iPad, if enough consumers say they're interested in purchasing
one, Bloomberg reported May 14, following an interview with Mike Abary, vice president of Sony's Information Technology Products unit.

"We have been taking a deep look at developing a tablet for a number of
years, not just because of Apple but because it creates some
interesting opportunities," Abary told Bloomberg.

While not yet entirely convinced of the demand for such a device, the
iPad has offered Sony executives a gauge for measuring consumer
sentiments. "Now we can get a good judgment as to whether the market is
truly accepting of it," said Abery.

BCG expects 50 to 75 percent of consumers to purchase such a device
within the next three years. However, widespread adoption, the survey
found, will depend on a drop in prices. "The sweet spot for
multipurpose devices seems to be $130 to $200 [and] $100 to $150 for
single-purpose devices," the report stated.

BCG additionally found 66 percent of the consumers it surveyed to
prefer a multipurpose device, to the 24 percent who would rather a
single-purpose one.

Sony, for now, appears to be bucking this finding. Currently, the
company plans to continue investing in its Reader line of e-readers,
Abary told Bloomberg, noting that they're Sony's fastest-growing type
of product.

On the price-point front, too, Sony may find its current tactics to run
against consumer desores. "The company's Vaio division has maintained
profitability by concentrating on more expensive configurations for
well-heeled customers," Bloomberg reported. "The company has avoided
jumping into crowded markets that are under heavy pressure to cut
prices."

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.